‘Made in Manchester’ eco-entrepreneur Vlad Mukhachev is putting his green credentials to the test by delivering his newly expanded Wrapit range to customers by bike himself.
In the run up to Christmas triathlete Vlad is hitting the road every day from Wrapit’s headquarters loaded down with parcels full of premium kitchen accessories destined for buyers across the home counties.
So far the University of Manchester graduate has clocked up hundreds of miles delivering linen oven gloves to Kent, reusable beeswax food wraps to Cambridge and linen aprons to the Essex coast on his eco-friendly zero-carbon Wrapit Santa delivery service.
The 25-year-old seasoned triathlete Vlad took the decision to deliver all possible orders for Wrapit products by bike in the run up to Christmas 2020 to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
With online orders pouring in to Wrapit’s headquarters in London, Vlad is now on target to cover more than 300 miles every week, cycling up to eight hours a day.
Customers in the home counties can select Vlad’s personal Wrapit Santa deliveries at www.wrapitkitchen.co.uk and watch his progress on a live feed of his Wrapit Santa deliveries on the Wrapit Instagram account with videos, lunch stops recommended by followers and photos of his destinations.
The idea for Wrapit was born during Vlad’s four years at the University of Manchester studying a BA in Environmental Management but it was the support from the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre at Alliance Manchester Business School that really helped turn it into a reality.
He said: “I knew that I wanted to combine two things that I am mostly passionate about: business and sustainability.
“However, building a sustainable business in reality is very challenging as there are so many variables that you have to get right.
“The support provided by Masood Entrepreneurship Centre helped me go from an idea stage to actually understanding how to build a fully functioning business. I was surprised by how much practical and grounded advice and knowledge the Centre provided.”
Vlad was a winner of the 2019 Venture Further Business Start-up Competition (Environmental Category) for his Manchester-based company, Mindful Store.
Venture Further is the flagship annual start-up competition for all current students, researchers and recent graduates across the University of Manchester. The competition opens up a world of support programmes, workshops, mentors and networks to nurture and grow ideas.
In autumn 2019 Vlad launched new venture Wrapit which specialises in self-adhesive and biodegradable food wraps which are helping to stop food waste and kill off single use plastic cling film.
The company harnesses the power of British beeswax and great British design to produce the artisan wraps which work just like cling film but can be used repeatedly to keep food fresher for longer.
Wrapit soaks cotton fabric with their secret blend of beeswax, coconut oil and pine resin to create wraps to protect leftovers, cut fruit and vegetables and lunches on-the-go.
The firm expanded its range earlier this autumn to include sustainable handmade linen kitchen aprons and oven gloves.
Vlad said: “Everything we do at Wrapit was founded, tested and developed in Manchester. I am a graduate of the University of Manchester, so basically spent four years there planning and researching ideas.
“I highly recommend to any of our graduates wanting to launch a new venture that they begin this journey at Masood Entrepreneurship Centre as they will simply accelerate their learning curve and business growth.”
To find out more about the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre visit https://bit.ly/3nFj5rs.
